Day by Day in Denmark

Today Chuck and I finally passed the finish line that was receiving our Danish CPR (Central Person Registry) numbers!  It is essential for everyone living in Denmark for more than three months to have a CPR number to unlock all the various services that come along with being a Danish resident.  Without a CPR, you can't open a bank account (to get paid your salary), can't access the free medical system, get a library card, etc; with it, you are eligible for free Danish lessons, among other things. There were many hoops to jump through along the way but we didn't realize we would run into the problem of having a place to live.  However, when we asked the owner of our AirBnB to sign the paper to confirm that we were staying at his address for our first 6 weeks, he refused to help.  (He didn't explain so we don't know quite why...)  But this meant we were advised to just wait until we moved into the more permanent apartment that we signed a formal lease for.  O...

We started our stay in Copenhagen in an AirBnB but yesterday was the day to move to our more permanent apartment. Or should I say more temporary apartment?  Our formal lease at Stockholmsgade 19 does not start until October 1st but the owner gave us the opportunity to move into one of his other apartments until then.  So for now we are in Apartment ST, TV (= ground floor, to the left). Yesterday we packed up our suitcases and wheeled them 15 minutes to get to our new home. Our new landlord Niels seems very nice and helpful. He lives next door (ST, TH = ground floor, to the right) but owns all of the apartments in the building.  It has all been in his family since it was built in the 1870s! This apartment has an extra large living room: and a large dining room: a main bedroom:  as well as a tiny maid's room off of the kitchen: It even has a bathroom and a toilet room, but the backyard still has the outhouse that everyone used to use before indoor plumbing was installe...

We didn't plan it this way, necessarily, but our trip to Sweden this past weekend had a lot to do with prizes and ceremonies.  We took the train from Copenhagen to Stockholm on Thursday and met up with one of Chuck's colleagues from graduate school at Stanford: Marty (Martha) Finnemore and her husband David.  We've been friends with them since we lived several blocks apart in San Francisco just after we got married.  Marty and David were there so she could receive the Skytte Prize, a prestigious honor awarded for most remarkable achievements within the field of Political Science.  We joined them for drinks and then a pleasant dinner that gave us the opportunity to get caught up with each others' lives. The next day, Chuck and I took a guided tour of City Hall.  Even though visiting a City Hall doesn't sound very spectacular, it certainly was, partly because the grand Blue Room is the site every year of the grand banquet for royalty and winners of the Nobel Prize...

We had a short adventure this past weekend by spending 4 days in Helsinki, Finland which is a conveniently short 1.5 hour flight from Copenhagen. Right away on the train from the airport, we could see the striking differences from Denmark: there are rocky hills and so many pine trees. And Helsinki itself is different because Finland is the only  Nordic country that doesn't have any buildings that dates back to medieval times, so buildings look newer and streets are straighter.  Even though our intriguing hotel had the look of an old castle, it was actually built much more recently. Our hotel Right after we dropped off our bags at our hotel, we walked down to the waterfront where we were meeting Emma Gier, her (Finnish) husband Konsta and their 3 month old son Onni.  They had suggested we meet at a well-known sauna/restaurant in case we wanted to schedule a sauna after dinner (but unfortunately there were no time slots available). It was a lovely outdoor restaurant on the ...

I think it is time to mention Danish pastries! What is Weinerbrod and why is Denmark known for their pastries?  It turns out there is some history: Apparently back in 1850, there was a strike among bakery workers in Denmark, so bakery owners hired workers from other places, like Austria, who brought their baking techniques like lamination with them. Even after the labor dispute was over, the Austrian pastries continued to be popular in Denmark. So what we call Danish pastries are called Weinerbrod (Viennese bread) in Denmark and called Kopenhagener Plunder in Vienna!  Being a baker means that I have forced myself to do some research in this area since we've been here! The first pastry we got was called a Spandauer.  We learned later that the name refers to a prison in Berlin called Spandau, because the laminated croissant layers create walls around the protected vanilla custard in the center. Spandauer Maybe the most famous pastries in Denmark are cardamom buns. Most are...

I think we really lucked out when we found an AirBnB in this location! It is quite central to lots of interesting things, so we really can walk almost anywhere, but it is still relatively quiet with lots of families. Five minutes to the west is the Kings Gardens, a huge green grassy park with multiple cafes, a playground,  a secluded rose garden, flower gardens, fruit trees, a "folly garden", and lots of benches to sit on.  Kings Gardens Folly garden within Kings Gardens Especially with our recent good weather, it is astounding to see so many people hanging out there in all day long. Lots of birthday picnics on the grass, with little Danish flags stuck in a circle around a blanket. Lots of families chasing each other happily around. Circles of students clearly having a class. Lots of people with few clothes on trying to get their last tanning session in before it gets colder. And obviously lots of dog walkers.  We are saving some of the interesting museums for when weathe...